


decathlon practice

by stuckonyou



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, also minor unrequited mj/liz, but yeah ANWYAYS have fun, i just wrote this two years ago and had no opinion on him At All now i kinda like him, im mean to flash in this one i promis i dont hate him, mj/peter is background / implied, not complete, okay looking back at it the mj/liz is not so minor but yeah definitely unrequited sorry, peter ned and mj are friends (kinda) and peter gets injured she is Worried and things Happen, rating is for language cause i let them say fuck, takes place the next year, this is not complete and it never will be sorry, this will stay incomplete, will not be finished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27640724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuckonyou/pseuds/stuckonyou
Summary: Michelle knows Peter is Spider-Man. Somehow, Peter doesn't know that she knows. When he gets injured, he tries to hide it from her. He doesn't succeed. (incomplete)
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	decathlon practice

**Author's Note:**

> okay i'm gonna be completely honest with y'all i wrote this in may 2018 it takes place after homecoming (some point in the next school year) and completely disregards infinity war and endgame. but yeah i wrote this two years ago and i was going through my docs and found it and mostly liked it so i fixed it up a Bit and here it is. i never had a real plot outline or anything but what i Wanted when i started this was mj was in love with liz, they were friends, but she ends up with peter. since then i changed my mind. that's part of why i kinda abandoned it so long ago but yeah i was considering reworking it so it's just 100% mj/liz but honestly it didn't seem worth the effort since i have no ideas for plot. but yeah usually i hate going back and looking at my own writing but this time i Did Not and so i don't just want to get rid of it so here you go i guess <3

It had been a few months since Liz left. It broke Michelle’s heart to see her go. Despite everything, what people thought of her, what she thought of herself, Liz cared about her. They had been good friends, even if they never spoke at school. Even if no one knew. Michelle had grown to love her, to care for her as she never had anyone else. When she heard about her dad, it was horrible. She wanted to be there for her best friend, for the girl she loved, but she knew that she couldn’t. Not when she was moving so far away. Not when Liz wouldn’t let her. She tried, though. She promised that Liz could always call her, that she would even try to fly out to Oregon once school was over, but Liz wouldn’t let her. That was how they left it. 

Michelle knew that it was because of Peter. She knew that he was Spider-Man. She didn’t tell him, of course, but it’s not like he was subtle. She couldn’t blame him, though. Despite everything, he nearly died trying to do what was right. He wouldn’t have let Adrian get arrested, he wouldn’t have put Liz through that if he had any other choice. He cared about her, loved her even, almost as much as Michelle did. The only difference was that Liz knew, and that she liked Peter as well.  
_____________________________________________

“Hey, MJ.”

"What’s up, nerds?”

This was usually the extent of their conversations. She had started sitting with Peter and Ned at lunch, and at their request, had stopped using them as models of people in crisis. 

With no upcoming competitions, decathlon practices were only twice a week, and Peter had managed to miss the last six. Listening to Ned’s excuses had become exhausting. They were getting repetitive, and he hadn’t noticed that he used “family emergencies” twice in one week. He seemed to forget that Peter’s only family was his aunt. If it was anyone else, they would be off the team, as Flash so graciously reminded her. She had a soft spot for Peter, though. She knew what he was doing, how many people he was helping, and she didn’t want to be the one to stand in his way. Knowing who he was and what he did, she felt as responsible for the people he saved as he did, and she didn’t want someone’s death on her conscience. 

Of course, she teased him about it. Just some jokes here and there, something that makes his face go white, scares the shit out of him, enough to give her a little laugh as she walks away. Joking about it made his double-life seem less real to her. It was less of something that she had to deal with, and just another one of his many problems. She knew, though, that if he missed another practice, she would have to deal with him.  
_____________________________________________

He missed another practice. And another. And another. And she did nothing. And then he showed up again. And again. And again. She tried to hide her shock, fairly well, she thought, but every time he was there, he gave her a small smile. That was different. She had no idea what made him stop being a superhero, but she was happy. It was probably Ned, but she didn’t mind. Peter was there, and he was participating. That was all that mattered.  
_____________________________________________

And then, one day, it didn’t. He wasn’t at practice. And then he missed school the next day. And the next. And the next. And the next. She sat with Ned, who tried not to look worried. 

“Where’s Peter?” she asked, tired of wondering after four days.

“He has the flu, I think.”

“Ned, I know that’s not true. Don’t lie to me.” He looked worried. “And don’t give me that look. I know who he is, and what he does. So just tell me, for god’s sake. At least tell me if he’s alive.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Michelle. He’s just sick.”

“Whatever, fine. Then tell him if he doesn’t give me a solid reason for not being at the next decathlon practice, he’s out.”

She walked away.  
_____________________________________________

As she walked home that day, she couldn’t help but think of Liz. It had been so long since she left, so long since they had even spoken. She hated to be that person, but she still texted Liz at least once a week. There was never a response. 

MJ: i miss you. i wish you were here. this place was always more tolerable when i had  
you here with me (3:33 p.m.)  
MJ: i know that you wouldve graduated by now but this is different (3:34 p.m.)  
_____________________________________________

Michelle found herself walking to Peter’s apartment. It had been a while since she was there, but she had to check on Peter. He would never miss this much school, not unless he was really hurt. Hell, even then, he would be there. She couldn’t help but remember the time last year that he had a concussion, bad enough that he couldn’t walk straight anymore, yet he still went to all of his classes, wrote a few tests, turned in some assignments, and somehow, managed to do well. When she heard Ned ask him about it the next day, he didn’t remember a damn thing. She knew that he was probably okay, but she just had to check.  
She had no idea why she cared. She had spent so long telling herself that it was just because she wanted the team to do well at nationals that she ignored the possibility of it being something more. The possibility of her actually caring about someone. No matter what she told herself, with Liz gone, he was her best friend.  
_____________________________________________

May opened the door before she could knock. 

“I saw you coming,” she explained.

“What happened? Is Peter okay? I’ve never seen him miss this much school,” she said. “I figured someone had to check, Ned is going crazy without him.”

May looked at her. She was about to say something, but changed her mind when Peter walked out of his room. 

“May, how should I-” he cut himself off when he saw her.

Michelle gasped. He looked terrible. She was sure it was worse a few days ago, but still, she couldn’t imagine what had caused this.

Peter was covered in bruises. Every part of his arms, and his face, and his neck, and the exposed part of his chest. Where there were no bruises, there was blood. Deep cuts on his cheeks, around his shoulders, near his heart. 

He dropped the bandages he was holding. He didn’t move. Neither did she. May walked over to him, picked them up, and pressed them into his hand. 

“I’ll give you two a minute,” she said, going into her room, closing the door behind her. 

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Peter what the-” she starts.

“I got mugged,” he says. “Sorry I missed practice again.”

“Peter I’m not an idiot, I know you didn’t get mugged. I know that you’re Spider-Man. So just fucking tell me what happened.”

“How did you know?”

“You and Ned are idiots. I’m surprised more people haven’t figured it out. Maybe don’t talk about stealing Captain America’s shield in a room full of people.”

“Have you told anyone?”

“No, but I’m sure Ned knows that I know. I’m surprised he didn’t warn you. Does May?”

“Yeah, she found out a few days after homecoming.”

“What about Liz?” she asked hesitantly.

He was surprised at that, and it took her a moment to remember that no one really knew she and Liz were friends. 

“Oh god, no, she doesn’t. I wanted to tell her before she left, but she was dealing with enough, I didn’t want to make it worse,” he says. “I haven’t talked to her since. I figured she wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

“But what happened this time? I know you’ve been hurt bad before, but not like this.”

“Careful, MJ, I might actually start to think that you care,” he joked. 

“Come on, Parker, I’m serious. You look like you’re dying.”

“Okay, fine, sorry. I think it was someone who worked with the Vulture. He got arrested after the whole thing on the ferry and he must have gotten out. I guess he held a grudge. I’m just lucky he decided to  
make it slow, or I wouldn’t be here now.”

Michelle gaped at him. She didn’t know how to respond to that. He was too calm to be saying what he was. 

“You could’ve told me, you know,” she said gently. “I would never tell anyone unless you wanted me to.”

“I know, but I wanted some part of my life to still be normal, you know? Cause first Ned found out, and that was great, cause I had someone there when I needed help, but everything was different. And then May found out, and she was so upset, she was so fucking worried, even more than before, and I had to stop for a while, cause I just couldn’t do that to her. But then at school, with the decathlon team, and you, I had something normal in my life. Something constant.”

“I get that Peter, I do, but you’re not the only one who cared about Liz. You’re not the only one who was affected when she left, okay? She was my best friend and I haven’t seen her or talked to her in months. Her leaving was one of the worst things that’s ever happened to me. I don’t want to be alone, I don’t deserve that.”

He stood there for a moment, shocked. And then it hit him. 

“Did you love her?”

“Of course I did. I still do.” 

He didn’t know what to say. They were both sure that May was listening to them, that she was waiting for the right moment to come back out. Michelle didn’t want to be there when that happened. She liked May, but she couldn’t deal with her. Not now. 

“I should go,” she said softly. “Text me if you need anything, Peter. Anything.”

She walked towards the door and opened it. Before leaving, she said,

“Before I forget, do me a favour. Tell Ned that I know. I tried to earlier but he didn’t believe me.” 

The door closed behind her.  
_____________________________________________

Nothing really changed at school. Peter was still gone, so for a while, it was just Ned and Michelle at lunch. He was still worried, and so was she. They didn’t talk about it, but just having someone else who knew, someone who they could talk to, that helped. Ned went to Peter’s place after school every day to catch him up on everything that was going on, and he always asked Michelle to go with him. She never did. Being there before, actually talking to him, that was a lot for her. Telling him about Liz, it was a moment of weakness. A moment she hadn’t even come close to since Liz left. 

Even then, it was different. She had never told anyone how she felt about Liz. Especially not Liz. Not until now. And of course, of all people, she told Peter fucking Parker. Of course, he was one of the only people who could even slightly understand what it was like for her, but barely. He had a crush on Liz for maybe a year, went on a date that didn’t go well, and that was it. Of course there’s more to it than that, but for Michelle, that was all that mattered. It was completely different for her. She had been in love with Liz for years, she was even working up the courage to tell her. She had hoped to say something before Liz graduated, but it didn’t work out. Even if everything with her dad hadn’t happened, Michelle probably wouldn’t have said anything. She didn’t want to risk losing her best friend.  
_____________________________________________

“My friends call me MJ.”

“I thought you didn’t have any friends.”

“I…. didn’t.”

She lied. She had a friend. Just one, but she had never needed anyone else. Not until now.  
_____________________________________________

MJ: i know youre either ignoring these or you changed your number (1:06 a.m.)  
MJ: hell i would be surprised if you havent (1:07 a.m.)  
MJ: but on that chance (1:07 a.m.)  
MJ: i think you need to talk to peter (1:08 a.m.)  
MJ: ask him about homecoming (1:08 a.m.)  
MJ: i know that it’s the last thing youd want to think about but you need to know what happened and he needs to able to explain why things went down the way they did (1:09 a.m.)  
MJ: hes going through a lot of shit and as far as i can tell youre the only one that can help him (1:09 a.m.)  
MJ: im sorry to bring it up again you know i wouldnt if there was any other way but im really worried about him and you (1:12 a.m.)  
MJ: you both need this because after everything you deserve at least some kind of closure (1:17 a.m.)  
MJ: if you havent changed your number yet at least consider it and please, let me know if youre okay we dont have to talk about it if you dont want to i just want to know that youre alright (1:32 a.m.)  
MJ: i miss you. i probably sound like a broken record at this point but it’s true (1:32 a.m.)  
MJ: if it’s not liz then please, for the love of fuck, just tell me i cant keep pouring my heart out to some fucking stranger (1:33 a.m.)  
_____________________________________________

It had been a week. No response from Liz. Peter was still at home. Michelle knew that he should have been back, but he hadn’t said anything to her, and she didn’t want to ask Ned. He was still shocked that she figured out the whole Spider-Man thing, and he didn’t understand why she suddenly seemed to care about them. She had even stopped teasing them. Ned thought she was losing it. 

It was weird for the three of them. Peter was still healing, still thinking about what Michelle had said about Liz. Ned was worried, more than usual, because he figured that Peter would be back already, having come to school in much worse condition. He also didn’t know what to say to Michelle, and decided that sitting in awkward silence every day was the best choice. Michelle was confused and scared. Scared because she had opened up to someone for the first time in so long, and hadn’t heard a damn thing from him, and confused as to why she opened up to him in the first place. Even going to see him confused her. It was why she hadn’t gone back.  
_____________________________________________

Decathlon practice that day was a nightmare. Specifically, Flash was a nightmare. He kept giving wrong answers and making lewd comments, which wasn’t exactly new, but then he started talking about Peter. Again. 

“You know,” he said. “I doubt he’s actually sick. He probably just got tired of pretending he actually had a Stark internship and is too embarrassed to show his face here. Scholarship be damned, I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back to public school.”

“Flash,” said Michelle. “Unless you want to do us all a favour and go to a public school yourself, shut the fuck up until you have a goddamned correct answer.”

“Defending your boyfriend, captain? Tell me, how did Penis Parker land a girl like you?”

“Fuck off, Flash.”

“I mean, he’s obviously not paying you, so what is it? Blackmail? What does he have on you?”

“Flash, I swear to god,” she said. “If you don’t fucking stop-”

"What? You’ll run to your boyfriend? Go for it. Or, you know what? We should all go see him now. See what the hell it is that’s keeping you from kicking him off the team! If any one of us missed that many practices, we would be out. The same damn thing happened last year with Liz, and when she left, I thought we might finally be past that shit.” He looked around the room as he spoke. “I really did think that her leaving would be the best thing to happen to this team, without her constant bitching. Then you were put in charge. Clearly that didn’t fuckin’ work, ‘cause here we are, months later, Parker hasn’t shown up in weeks. But you still won’t kick him off the team;”

Michelle looked calm. She didn’t know how, but despite the rage she felt inside of her, none of it showed. She looked at Flash, and he stepped back. 

“I don’t give a shit what you say about me, Flash,” she said slowly, quietly. “But don’t you dare say a fucking thing about Parker. And you have no fucking right to talk about Liz like that. We all know damn well that the only reason you’re still on this team, hell, the only reason you’re still in this school, is because of your parents. If they didn’t donate as much as they do, you would’ve been out a damn long time ago. The only reason I don’t let you go from the team now, is because I don’t want to risk losing it. That won’t last long. So, if you want to maintain even a tolerable life here, I would suggest keeping your fucking mouth shut unless you want to answer a question.”

She had slowly started walking towards him as she spoke. By the time she finished, she was only a few inches away, peering down at him. She was so much taller than him, if the others hadn’t been so terrified of her in that moment, they would’ve laughed. 

“Y-You can’t talk to me like that,” he stutters.

“Actually,” she said. “I think I can. Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind.” 

He backed away slowly, clearly trying to stop himself from running. He didn’t succeed. Michelle turned to the rest of the team. 

“We good here?” she asked, smiling slightly. 

They laughed, and started to leave, a few of them hugging and thanking her for saying something. Ned was the last to go and he had given up on trying not to laugh, but he stopped when he saw her face. Michelle was not smiling. She looked like she was going to cry. 

“Are you alright?” he asked hesitantly. 

“Doubt it. But I will be. Let’s go, nerd.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to see Peter, and then we’re getting Tony Stark’s phone number.”  
_____________________________________________

Michelle knocked on the door, expecting May to open it. She didn’t. No one did. She and Ned sat outside for almost an hour, waiting to see if they would come home. They didn’t. 

“I don’t think they’re coming back anytime soon,” Ned said. 

“I know, but this is important, we have to deal with this now so that it won’t escalate any more than it already has.”

"I get that, but is it really worth getting Mr. Stark involved? I know he and Peter are tight but I seriously doubt he would want to get involved in a fight between some kids at a high school he doesn’t even know much about.”

“Stark has been a huge donor to the school for years, even more since he recruited Peter. I’m not saying he should threaten the school, but he should show up for a bit, do something, even if it’s as petty as picking Peter up one day after practice. It would be weird for him to be at the school, but even without Peter, he is tied to it.”

“That’s fair. And honestly, I would love to see you try and reason with the Tony Stark.”

“Let me guess; an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?” 

“You read my mind,” Ned said, beaming.  
_____________________________________________

MJ: whats up nerd (5:37 p.m.)  
MJ: where are you (5:37 p.m.)  
MJ: me and ned have been outside your apartment for like an hour (5:37 p.m.)  
Peter: thats creepy but alright (5:38 p.m.)  
MJ: i’m aware so what the fuck dude (5:38 p.m.)  
MJ: where are you i have a plan and i need help (5:38 p.m.)  
Peter: okay 1) when do you not have some kind of plan and b) im honoured that youre coming to me for help but i cant right now (5:40 p.m.)  
MJ: why (5:41 p.m.)  
Peter: im at the avengers facility rn (5:42 p.m.)  
Peter: dr banner is back and mr stark wanted him to make sure im okay (5:42 p.m.)  
Peter: may and i are gonna be here for a while i dont know when we can be back (5:42 p.m.)  
MJ: any chance we can meet you there? (5:43 p.m.)  
MJ: i kinda only wanted to talk to stark anyways lol (5:43 p.m.)  
Peter: that hurts (5:43 p.m.)  
Peter: wait i thought you hated him (5:43 p.m.)  
MJ: well. i did. (5:44 p.m.)  
MJ: hes done some pretty shitty things and i wont ignore that but at least hes trying to be better without trying to make people forget (5:44 p.m.)  
Peter: ugh fine give me a few minutes i’ll see what i can do (5:45 p.m.)  
_____________________________________________

“Fucking finally,” she exclaimed. “A few minutes my ass, it’s been almost half an hour.”

“He send the address?” Ned asked, standing up. 

“Nah, but Stark’s bodyguard is coming to pick us up. Should be here in about five minutes.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” he said slowly. 

“Ned,” she said. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Okay so I may have called him about seven times at homecoming because I couldn’t get through to Mr. Stark, and he may have, just kinda, yelled at me for ten minutes the next week when he picked Peter up. It wasn’t about that, but still.”

“Oh please, he probably doesn’t care that much. Wasn’t he trying to get all of Stark’s shit out of the Avengers tower that night? I’m sure he was just stressed. What was he mad about the next week though?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. The only thing I remember is being absolutely terrified. I mean, the guy is Tony Stark’s personal bodyguard and he fuckin’ survived the Mandarin a few years ago. The guy is amazing, I was just trying not to cry.”

“Well that’s fair. I just hope he shows up soon, I’m so cold.”

“That’s what you get for wearing a hoodie in December, genius.”  
_____________________________________________

The avengers facility was weird. It was too sharp, too severe, to sterile, almost like a hospital but somehow worse. At least in hospitals there were signs of life. It was gorgeous, she had to admit, but it was empty. 

To be fair, it was probably meant for a much larger group of people, but about half of the avengers were fugitives now, so there weren’t enough people to fill the space. 

Inside, May was waiting for them, accompanied by Pepper Potts. It took everything she had to stay calm. She had been half in love with Pepper since she had become the CEO of Stark Industries, now arguably one of the most powerful and influential women in the world. But no. They were there for Peter. They would have time to admire the place, to ask some questions, find out whatever they wanted to know later. 

“What happened?” Ned asked May. “I thought he was getting better.”

“He is,” she responded. “But Tony called and said Dr. Banner was back, and I told Peter that he should see him, just to be sure.”

“Can we see him?”

“Of course,” said Pepper. “He’s in the lab, it’s just this way.”

The only sound as they walked was Pepper’s shoes clicking against the floor. Michelle wanted to ask May about Peter, not having seen him since the last week, but she knew better. It would be easier to talk to him herself, but she was still terrified. She didn’t want to see him hurt like that again. She didn’t want him to look at her the way he did when she told him about Liz, as if she was broken but couldn’t be fixed. He looked at her as if he cared about her. As if he wanted to make her feel better. The same way she looked at him. 

By the time they reached the lab, Michelle was starting to feel sick, almost struggling to breathe. Her legs were numb and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She ignored it.

She opened the door and gasped. The lab was amazing. She couldn’t even imagine what the majority of the technology was, and she figured it was original Stark tech. Most of it didn’t even look like it was from Earth. Of course, it could have been from Wakanda or even from Asgard, but she didn’t think of that at the time. All she could think of was Peter. 

“I don’t know, Peter, you seem fine but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go back out there. You need a break,” said a soft voice on the other side of the room

“It’s been almost a month! I haven’t even gone to school, I’m tired of taking a break.” That was Peter. They all stopped when they heard his voice. Just hearing him, after so long, Michelle was shocked. He didn’t  
sound different, but somehow, she couldn’t see him in the same way anymore. Just being in the same room gave her trouble breathing. But that had started earlier. She ignored it. 

“Kid, come on, I promised your aunt that this wouldn’t interfere with school,” said a tired voice. “Once the bruises faded you should’ve gone back.”

“Mr. Stark, it’s fine, Ned has been giving me all the work. Besides, I know most of what we’re doing already.”

“You know that doesn’t matter. People are going to get suspicious that you’ve been gone for so long. Going on patrol again is one thing, but you’re safe at school. There’s significantly fewer people trying to kill you.” 

Tony stopped talking and looked towards the door. 

“Hey Ned,” he said. “I’m assuming this isn’t about homework. We’ll give you a minute.”

He and Bruce left, followed closely by May and Pepper. For a moment, it was silent. They all had something to say, but none wanted to be the first to say it. Michelle looked at Peter, really looked at him, for the first  
time in a while. Banner was right. Physically, he seemed fine. He was still acting the same, arguing about little things, complaining about school, none of that was new. But still, somehow, he was different. 

The way he held himself, it was different. At school, he was always hunched over slightly, as if he was trying to hide, which, in a way, he always was. Outside of school, it was better. He was more visibly confident, more comfortable with who he was and how he acted. Now, it was worse than ever. He sat there, hunched over, looking at the floor, the ceiling, the walls, doing absolutely everything he could to avoid meeting their eyes. It was heartbreaking to watch.

Michelle was still having trouble breathing. The longer they stood there in silence, the worse it got. She ignored it. 

Ned wasn’t sure what to do. Michelle thought that he may have been in shock, because of how Stark addressed him, as if they were friends. She could’ve sworn they had never met before, but with Stark, she could never be sure. She was wrong. He was scared and confused, just like she was. He didn’t know how to say what needed to be said, he didn’t know what he could do without causing more issues. The thing was, he wanted Peter to stop. He loved Spider-Man, he loved that his best friend was a hero, but it wasn’t worth it. Not like this. It was one thing when he was fighting petty crime on the street, when he was in no real danger, but after the Vulture, after this, Ned knew that Spider-Man wasn’t worth Peter’s life. Saying that, though, he would lose Peter’s trust. At least now, as the Guy in the Chair, he could help. He couldn’t risk losing that.

Michelle wanted to tell Peter more about Liz. More about herself. She knew that she couldn’t, at least, not now. He needed to heal. He needed to figure out who he was, with or without Spider-Man, and that was something he needed to do on his own. She was sure that talking to Liz about what happened and telling her the truth would help, but she still hadn’t heard back. If it was going to happen, it would be up to them to find each other. She tried not to think of it, knowing that she couldn’t make a difference. Thinking about it made her feel worse, it made her want to throw up. She still couldn’t breathe. She ignored it.

Peter wanted to talk to them about what happened, but he couldn’t. Everything they knew was putting them in danger. He nearly died and he didn’t want to put their lives at risk. The guy who attacked him knew his name. He must have seen the Vulture recently. That meant that he knew about his school, his friends, May, where he went, what he did. He knew about Peter’s entire life. It was why he hadn’t gone back to school yet. It’s not that he was bored with the classes. He was, but that wasn’t the point. He didn’t want to put anyone else at risk. He didn’t tell Tony or Bruce about that. They thought that he was attacked by someone who recognized him as Spider-Man, nothing more. He knew that he should tell them, he knew that they could help, but he didn’t want to admit that he screwed up. Telling Ned and Michelle, he wasn’t sure about that. He knew that they would be more careful, but he also knew that they would be terrified. He didn’t want to put them through that, but he knew that he probably should. 

“He knows who you are,” Peter said quietly. “The Vulture must have told him who I am, so by now, he knows everything. I don’t know when or how, but he’ll be back, and I can’t let you guys get caught up in that.”

“No,” said Michelle. “You don’t get to decide that. We chose to be here with you in the beginning, and it’s our choice to stay now if we want to. You know damn well that we can help you, but you have to let us in. You can’t hide shit like this from us.”

“Peter, this is our life too now,” Ned said. “ You were alone when this started and for too long after, but right now, you have us. We are a part of this, whether you like it or not. I don’t think I love the whole Spider-Man thing anymore, it’s putting you in too much danger. But I’m here for you. We both are. Accept it.”

“No, you don’t get it. It was one thing with Toomes, he just wanted the best for his family. He went too far, but that’s it. He didn’t really want to hurt me. But this guy did. He wants revenge. He wants me to suffer. You guys and May are in danger, okay I need to do something, I need to figure this out, I can’t let you get involved.”

“Fuck off, Parker, we were always involved,” Michelle said. “ We can help and you know it. Like I said, we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t willing to accept the risk.”  
Peter didn’t know what to say to that. He couldn’t think of how to make them understand how much danger they were really in. No matter what he said, they would always want to be there with him. They would never leave him. Of course, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He would always be worried about them. He would always be fucking terrified of losing them. At least this way, they knew what was going on. If he explained everything, they would at least understand what they were getting themselves into. It was like with May. He was so worried about her finding out, he knew she would always be worried, he didn’t want to do that to her, but after, despite everything, he was better off. She was worried, she didn’t love that he was in danger, but she helped him. He had someone else always looking out for him. It wasn’t just him and Ned anymore. 

“Okay, you know what, fine, but we do this my way,” he responded. “I can’t let you guys get hurt because of me. After everything with Liz…”

“Peter you know that wasn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing it was her dad,” Ned said. He sounded annoyed, as if they had had this conversation before.

“It was my fault and you know it. I knew it was her dad as soon as I got to her house before homecoming. If nothing else I could’ve told her, she would’ve been prepared-”

“Prepared for what? Do you really think she would’ve believed you?” Michelle interrupted. “I knew a lot better than you did, Parker, she would’ve walked away right there. She was pissed when you left that night, but not because of her dad. She was pissed that you stood her up. She spent so much time planning that night and she was so fucking happy you asked her. I barely talked to her after, but she didn’t blame you. Or Spider-Man. She was pissed at her dad and she blamed herself for not noticing.”

“I get it MJ, I do, but still. If I hadn’t done what I did, she would still have a dad. She wouldn’t have had to move. She would’ve graduated on time and with her friends. She-”

“She would’ve found out eventually. This way, less people died.” Tony and the others were back. “You stopped Toomes from getting his hands on my weapons. God knows what he would’ve done with all that. He knew the risks of what he was doing. He was trying to take care of his family. He knew the price.”

“Yeah, well, Liz and her mom shouldn’t be the ones to pay it,” Michelle said. “Peter it’s a shitty situation, we get it. But this isn’t your fault. You can't blame yourself for everything that goes wrong, no matter how much you want to. You can’t save everyone.”

“That’s the problem! You think I’m not happy he’s gone? You think I don’t know how much better off we all are with him out of the way? I get it, I really do but whatever happens next is my fault. If any of you get hurt, that’s on me.”

“No it’s not,” said May. “You’re so ready to sacrifice yourself for everyone, let us do the same. We all knew what we were getting into when we agreed to help you. We’re not going back on that now. You know I still don’t think this is a good idea but I’m not letting you do this alone. Not again.”  
_____________________________________________

MJ: look i know you’re still pissed but please. peter is about to do something really stupid. you’re the only one that can stop him. i know you don’t know the whole story but he can tell you. this is something you both need. i know you need to talk about this too, liz, he can help (11:38 p.m.)  
MJ: i’m sorry i keep talking about it (11:38 p.m.)  
MJ: i miss you (11:39 p.m.)  
Liz: typing…  
_____________________________________________

“You know what, I don’t think you ever told me why you wanted to talk to Mr. Stark,” Peter said the next day.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I’m not sure if I was gonna tell him off for letting you put yourself in so much danger or tell him to make sure no one else is coming.”

“Well damn, MJ, sounds like you care,” he teased. 

“Well I’m not you, Parker, I want you to be safe.”

**Author's Note:**

> okay this has A Lot more dialogue than i'm used to writing so uhhh lmk if it's good or what to fix?? i'm working on some other dialogue heavy stuff and i want to make sure it works ANYWAYS hope y'all liked it


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